The Barn at Willow Brook Wedding Photography

I’ve had the pleasure of being both a wedding photographer and wedding videographer at Willow Brook. From my experience, this is easily one of the best wedding venues in Northern Virginia. Not only is the environment itself primed for incredible wedding photographs, but the staff is committed to excellence at every step in the wedding process. One keen example of this is the fact that they offer an on-site wedding coordinator which makes your wedding planning process that much easier!

A great wedding venue should allow for both an on-site ceremony and reception option. Willow Brook has this covered while also providing an indoor wedding ceremony option for days when the weather is not cooperating. Having the wedding ceremony and reception in the same venue makes for a much simpler wedding planning process – one where friends and family don’t have to factor in crazy amounts of travel time and waiting around. With more relaxed wedding guests comes better wedding photographs since everyone is having a fun, stress-free time. As a documentary wedding photographer, this allows me to capture more genuine and natural moments throughout the day.

couple laughing together on their wedding day

Wedding Photography

Hey, I’m Jason! I’m a professional wedding photographer based in Northern Virginia and I’m passionate about serving fun-loving couples with documentary wedding photography. I particularly enjoy working at wedding venues close to home and throughout the Loudoun County area.

My mission in photography is to create meaningful images. A meaningful image to me is one that documents a special moment in time while capturing authentic emotion. I believe weddings are an experience filled with countless meaningful moments and thus, should stay far away from becoming a photoshoot. For this reason, I use a photojournalistic approach to capture the natural epic and emotional moments throughout the day.

Weddings are awesome because they are passion-filled from beginning to end. The authenticity in the air excites me and it’s so much fun to document the special moments and help couples relive their special day. The final gallery is a visual heirloom that lasts forever and I’m grateful for the trust couples place in me to immortalize such a special time.

jason montoya wedding photographer taking a photo

Getting Ready

Willow Brook has exceptional getting-ready spaces for the bridal party. The modern farmhouse houses both the girls and the guys on opposite sides of the building. Both sides of the house have multiple beds and tons of entertainment options. On this wedding day, the bride and groom weren’t interested in tons of getting ready coverage but I still managed to capture some photos of the bride and groom prepping for their wedding day (they opted to not have a wedding party for their day).

bride getting her make up put on for her wedding day

groom adjusting his tie before his wedding day begins

groom waiting for his wedding day to start while standing next to a chic-fil-a bag

bride getting ready before her wedding day in leesburg virginia

First Look

Once the bride and groom were all suited up, it was time for their first look. There are plenty of awesome spots here at Willow Brook where the first look could happen but on this sunny wedding day, I had suggested doing it under the shade of a tree behind the farmhouse. This would allow for both better lighting and ample space for me to walk around and get alternative angles of the couple. Having an open space also allows everyone to feel more relaxed as opposed to being in a tight space.

The bride wanted to pull a fun prank on his soon-to-be-husband so instead of doing the first look herself, she sent a close friend of theirs to be first for the first look.

best friend of the groom sneaking up on him to surprise him

groom and his best friend laughing together

Once the fun prank was out of the way, it was time for their official first look followed by their private vow reading.

bride walking up to groom so they can exchange private vows together

bride and groom standing back-to-back and exchanging private vows

groom seeing bride for the first time on their wedding day

Following the first look, I like to grab at least a few couple photos before the remaining events of the day begin. This is also when I try and grab the wedding party and family portraits but since the couple didn’t have a wedding party and didn’t desire to do formal family portraits, we went straight to taking their photos instead.

The bride and groom wanted mostly candid coverage of their wedding so we didn’t do a huge portrait session (thankfully I did get to explore a few creative ideas I had for their portraits). I knew all of this going into this wedding day and appreciated their dedication to having a fun-filled wedding day with friends and family. I’m happy to work with couples and make their special day everything they hope it to be.

bride and groom looking at the camera together and smiling

bride and groom looking outside together on their wedding day

bride and groom looking at camera for a creative portrait on their virginia wedding day

Wedding Ceremony

Willow Brook has a great indoor and outdoor wedding ceremony option. They specialize in intimate weddings of up to 125 guests which is perfect for couples who want a manageable wedding size. This wedding day took place in September which left us with amazing fall weather that we enjoyed in full during the outdoor wedding ceremony.

bride walking down the aisle with her father and mother

groom smiling while watching bride walk down the aisle

bride and groom leave their wedding ceremony together

Couples Portraits

Willow Brook has some epic greenery and both the wedding barn and farmhouse serve as a great backdrop for photos. Since my couple on this wedding day wasn’t interested in a long portrait session, we took a quick walk to the front of the barn for a few photos before heading inside for the wedding reception. Though we didn’t use too many different locations, I guarantee you’ll be shocked by the amount of options for couples portraits!

bride and groom walking together during their leesburg wedding day

Wedding Reception

The inside of the barn served as the breathtaking backdrop for the wedding reception. This reception space has huge floor-to-ceiling windows allowing great views of the countryside along with tons of natural light for photos. The barn itself is an intimate spot with plenty of dancing space in the middle of the base floor.

The couple on this wedding day were ready to dance the night away with friends and family. Once the main events of the evening concluded, we celebrated the night with a sparkler exit to send everyone home on a high note.

This wedding day proved to be smooth from beginning to end and a large part of that can be attributed to the incredible professional and reliable staff at Willow Brook. I can’t wait to be back here photographing another wedding soon!

the barn at willow brook wedding reception space

bride and groom kissing after their first dance finished

uncle of the groom hugging the bride and groom before their first dance

bride and groom having fun on the dance floor together

group photo of the bride and groom with their friends

bride and groom kissing in front of their wedding cake

uncle of the groom and the groom out cake on each others faces

bride and groom walking out of the wedding venue with a sparkler exit

bride and groom taking one last night time wedding portrait together before finishing the night

Location Address

15486 Limestone School Rd, Leesburg, VA 20176

Let’s Connect

The Barn at Willow Brook is the perfect venue for your wedding and I’d love to be the one to document your special day! You can see more of my work on my portfolio page. If you’re ready to reach out, head over to the contact page to get in touch and check availability. I can’t wait to hear from you!